Corroon tightens belt on Salt Lake County

Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon made a move Tuesday that hasn't been seen for 20 years in the realm of county finance — he presented a budget proposal to the council that slashes $11 million from last year's operation, seeks an additional $11 million in savings through gradual work-force reductions and promises not to raise taxes.

Corroon's $801 million 2009 package makes cuts that affect virtually every aspect of county operations, with just a pair of exceptions each in public safety and human services. The mayor acknowledged the size of the county's net appropriations represents a big number, but he said the ax had been wielded in a wide swath and expectations for efficient operation in the year ahead would be high.

Despite the budget trouble, Corroon is still proposing to fund modest pay raises for county employees and reopen Oxbow Jail.

"This budget caps employment, provides essential funding for public health and safety, defers capital maintenance, includes a modest boost for our employees who are being asked to do more, and it is very, very tight," Corroon said. "I understand that $801 million may not seem like a tight budget year to some.

However, when the demands for services continue to increase, while the revenue decreases, it is indeed a tight budget year."

Those revenue decreases, an estimated $11 million shortfall in sales tax alone, led the mayor to extensive trimming of last year's $812 million reckoning, and will seek to eliminate 175 full-time positions through attrition.

The job elimination reduces the county's approximately 4,000 employees about 5 percent and will likely be accomplished by early in the second quarter of 2009. An additional proposal of an early retirement incentive package could speed the process.

Corroon listed public safety as his No. 1 budget priority, a mandate he reflected in protections offered to the sheriff's office and district attorney's office, and a commitment to reopen the Oxbow Jail in June of next year. Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder will be able to hire sworn patrol deputies but will be required to take some cuts in other budget areas to balance the startup costs at Oxbow, which will include 56 new hires to operate the facility.

County Attorney Lohra Miller stands to gain some new prosecutors and paralegals, but she made adjustments in executive hirings to offset new personnel in the criminal division.